After the Wreckage
by greenrose15
Summary: Taking place 8 years after the War, Peeta and Katniss are now faced with the reality of a some-what stable life, along with all its problems.  But when you fought in a massive war and lived to tell the tale, parenting should be no problem.. right?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! me again. Soooooo this is the first chapter for the story and I'm so excited! **

**Hope you guys like it! Remember to review please :D**

**I might not upload the next chapter till late next week because I have my final exams and I'll be super busy with that :S**

**ANYWHO,, hope you enjoy :]**

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><p>"Why not Katniss?" Peeta asks me, while we're curled up on the couch. It's a cold and snowy January evening, so lying in Peeta's arm is the most sensible thing to do.<p>

"'Why not' what?" I ask him, a little too innocently.

I know exactly what he's talking about. He's been hinting about it for who knows how long.

"You know…about…well" he struggles with words for a second, which is very unlike him. I sigh, half amused at his rare awkwardness, half dreading the awaiting question.

"Just say it Peeta." he sighs.

"About having kids."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"You know why," I tell him, feeling somewhat selfish.

"No," he says evenly, and then his voice turns into a whisper, "as a matter of fact, I don't."

I know Peeta wants to know; he wants the reasons why. I honestly hope he hasn't taken it… personally. The reason I've never told Peeta is because I'm not quite so sure myself. I guess I drilled myself so much to not want children, to not have them be part of the Capitol's stupid game, that it stuck. Of course it's been over 8 years since the Capitol was overturned, and with it the Hunger Games.

I still have nightmares about it though.

Terrible ones, where Snow magically resurrects and I'm forced to play in the Hunger Games once more as his snake-like eyes watch me. Others where I see Peeta die before my eyes. Once it was because of blood poisoning, in another Cato stabs him in the heart, leaving him to die in the Arena forests. In a particularly frightening one, I see Peeta being tortured in all ways humanly possible.

I hear every scream escapes his mouth, see every bruise and cut on his body, feel all his pain: mental, physical, emotional.

I imagine my children suffering that fate too, but I have to remind myself that it is behind us. "It's just that…" I start off, but voice starts to crack and uncontrollable tears flow from my eyes. In a swift and gentle motion, Peeta flips me around so that I'm facing him on the couch and I burrow my face in his chest.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. I didn't mean to make you upset." He strokes my hair and pulls me closer to him, trying to calm me down. "I-It's just that, I-I d-don't…" I try to explain but I just end up blubbering.

"Shh, shh," Peeta says, kissing my forehead. "It's okay, Katniss, you don't have to explain." He tries to keep his voice neutral but I notice there's a hint of sadness in it. I wipe the tears off my cheeks, and look straight into Peeta's beautiful blue eyes.

"It's just I'm not ready." I say, barely above a whisper. First confusion sweeps across his face, then understanding, then he starts blushing and avoids my eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammers out "I didn't know you were feeling pressured. I just assumed you were ready, after 8 years and all, we know each other so well…" He starts rambling and something finally clicks in my head; my eyes grow wide, and Peeta stops talking.

"You think it's because I don't want to have sex with you." I state more than ask, feeling myself blush. He goes bright red too, and nods his head.

I can't help myself.

I burst out laughing.

I can tell my laughter confused more than hurt him, but I immediately feel guilty.

"Peeta," I say, looking into his eyes and locking my hands behind his neck. "Trust me, that is _not _the problem." I give him a long lingering kiss for emphasis and his face relaxes a bit.

"Than what is it?"

He really won't drop it, but I don't blame him. I know he's always envisioned having kids, and, honestly, I have too. I've had dreams where we sit in the meadows as our children run around, playing. Little boys with Peeta's stunning blue eyes and my dark hair and little girls with waist-long blonde hair in a braid and my petrifying gray eyes. They run toward us, Peeta and me, calling 'father', 'mother'. We embrace them and a look over at Peeta, seeing all the joy and pride in his face, and smile.

But sometimes my dream turns into a twisted nightmare.

Our children lose their blonde hair and blue eyes, and they all have the Seam look: brownish black hair, piercing gray eyes, olive skin. Then I look over at Peeta, somewhat confused, and I realize it's not Peeta I'm looking at anymore; it's Gale.

He smiles his old smile, the one he would give me when we were in the woods, the one that makes my heart skip a beat. But, suddenly, his sweet smile turns into a rude smirk, and he starts walking away. I notice the kids are gone and try to scream out. To Gale, to the kids, to Peeta, to anyone who'll listen. I see Gale embrace someone, a girl, in the distance, as a small boy runs around them. He turns around slowly, towards me, with his arm around the girl and carrying the little boy in his other arm. Then I remember, the wedding invitation and pictures he sent of him and his future bride.

I feel like someone has punched me in the stomach. I struggle to maintain my composure as I remember these dreams and think of an answer for Peeta. His eyes question my expression and I know I'll never be able to tell Peeta the whole truth, even if I wanted to. I can already see the hurt in his eyes when I tell him it's partly because of Gale, and how I feel he somehow betrayed me when he got married to that girl in District 2 and had a kid.

How a part, however small, of my heart will always belong to Gale, and I don't want to betray him the same way he betrayed me. I know it's all in my head, certainly Gale doesn't feel this way, but I can't help to do so.

Instead I just tell Peeta part of the reason, the part that won't hurt him.

"It's because of the Games." I finally manage to choke out. "I feel that somehow the Games are still present, that they'll be back and our kids will be forced to play in them, fighting against each other." Instead of telling me I was stupid for still being afraid of something that's been gone for 8 years, he holds me tighter and says,

"I'm scared sometimes too, Katniss, I worry about that. But we have to remember that the Games are over, that our children will never have to suffer what we did." As if on cue, we both shiver at the thought and he holds me closer.

"Our children will be safe; I will _never _let _anyone_ lay a hand on them."

I feel a rush of emotion and know I was wrong for making Peeta wait years for something we both wanted. Gale pops into my mind again but I push him away. _No, Gale is in the past. He's moved on; I'm free to do so too. _I push Gale into a deep, dark corner of my mind, knowing he'll pop up eventually, hoping it won't be soon. I give Peeta another kiss and nestle closer into his body.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello people! I am sooooooooooooooooo very sorry for taking forever to update! **

**I had finals this week and it's been hard to think of stuff when my brain is fried xP**

**Sorry it's kinda short but hopefully the content makes up for that ;D !**

**ANYWAYS, hope you guys like it! Please review and tell me what you love, what you hate, what you wanna see more of. **

**THANKS TONS! **

**p.s. this takes place a couple weeks after the first chapter, hope you guys don't mind:)**

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><p>I stare at Peeta, snoring softly in his sleep. His arm curls around me, as if to protect, even when he's sleeping. He looks so boyish and innocent in his sleep I almost don't want to wake him up.<p>

Almost. Today is a big day, he just doesn't know it yet.

I gently push some hair away from his face and place a light kiss on his forehead. He opens his eyes startled and then sees my face and visibly relaxes.

"Happy Birthday, Peeta." I whisper and kiss him again.

"Is it really my birthday today? I forgot." He tells me jokingly.

"Yes it is, bread boy. March 23rd. You're 25 years old as of today."

"Damn, I'm getting old." He says, passing his hand through his face.

"Yeah, you are," I tease. He sticks his tongue out at me and I laugh.

"How about you stay here and I'll bring up breakfast" I ask him as I kneel on the bed, getting ready to get up.

"How about I go downstairs, bake some bread, and eat in the kitchen?" he says, mimicking my tone playfully. I cross my arms and look at him sternly. He props himself on his elbow.

"No, it's your birthday and I want to do something for you." I say almost childishly.

"You do enough for me already, Katniss." He puts a piece of loose hair behind my ear. "The fact that you're here with me is more than enough." He kisses me tenderly and a shiver runs down my spine. I sigh. "I knew you were gonna be like this."

"Does that mean I win?" He says with a sly smile.

"Nope," I tell him quickly and jump off the bed, running. Peeta hasn't even had time to make sense of what happened when I'm back with breakfast on a tray. He looks at me with a defeated look on his face and I set the tray before him.

I'd woken up over an hour earlier to make breakfast and bake a somewhat pitiful cake. I tried frosting it too but it was next to pathetic. Well, at least he'll know I tried.

Peeta looks at the breakfast, eggs with herbs and squirrel, his favorite, but his eyes settle on the cake. He turns to me, smiling radiantly, and pulls me toward him from the waist. I sit down next to him and he kisses me.

"Thank you, Katniss. I love it."

"And that's just one of the surprises." I say under my breath with a sly smile. He raises an eyebrow.

"What was that you said?"

"You better finished your breakfast quick and get changed." I tell him, purposely avoiding the question. "'You got a long day ahead of you." He snorts and I smile at him, while making my way out of the room.

"Katniss," he calls. I peek my head inside the room. "I love you." I practically sprint back to where Peeta is and sit next him. He cups my face in his hands and looks at me with those eyes.

"You are the _best _thing that has _ever _happened to me." And he kisses me with so much passion and for so long, I finally have to break off the kiss to gasp for air.

"I love you too, Peeta." I give him a quick peck and go downstairs, smiling from ear to ear.

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><p>"This is… amazing." Peeta says as he takes in his surroundings. Another one of Peeta's surprises was this; a lunch picnic in the woods by the lake.<p>

"I knew you'd appreciate the scenery; might give you some ideas for your paintings." I can almost see the gears turning in his head. He was thinking up which colors he would have to mix to get the perfect shades of green from the forest, the mystical blues from the lake, the bright colors for the flowers. I place the food on old blanket on the ground and sit. I pat the ground next to me.

"Sit, you must be tired." I say with a somewhat smug smile on my face. He laughs at my expression.

"Yes, the boy with the _prosthetic _leg over here is _very _tired after hiking through the woods."I roll my eyes at him and he sits down next to me and kisses me. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to _illegally_ going into the woods and burrowing under fences." He says playfully. I lightly smack him on the arm.

"Shut up! It's not even illegal anymore."

"Well it's not technically allowed either." Peeta says still challenging me. I roll my eyes at him and stuff some bread into his mouth.

"Shut up and eat, bread boy." He tries to laugh but decides to finish eating the bread.

"This is why I love you." he tells me, and caresses my face. I blush and he smiles. He lies down on the blanket and I lay across his chest, tilting my head up to kiss him. He kisses me back, more passionately. He puts his arms around my waist and I lock my fingers in his hair. Peeta places light kisses on my lips, my neck, my collarbone. I feel my self shiver with every kiss and I almost give Peeta his last surprise right here, right now.

_No,_ I think, _This has to wait until later. _

"Peeta," I whisper. He makes some unintelligible sound and I say his name again. This catches his attention.

"What's wrong?" He says, looking around automatically for any trouble.

"Nothing's wrong. Let's just... save this for later. Okay?" I look at him straight in the eyes, trying to make him understand my message. I give him a quick peck and settle down next to him, cuddling.

I'm not sure he caught it, doesn't really matter anyways. What matters is that later tonight, I'm going to give Peeta something he's wanted for 8 long years.

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><p>We get back home around mid afternoon and Peeta immediately goes to his paintings. I go to the kitchen and start unpacking the leftover food and check the time. Annie's train should be pulling about around now. It'll be about a half hour before she gets here. That should be enough to get everything ready for the party.<p>

Suddenly there's a knock on there. _Well that was really fast _I think and make my way toward the door.

"Are we expecting company?" Peeta asks. I'm surprised he even notices because when he's painting, it's almost as if he's in his own little world, far away from here.

"Nah, it's probably just Haymitch, coming to say happy birthday." I tell him. I can almost see Peeta rolling his eyes; I'm such a horrible liar.

"Oh okay, well open the door." He says just to humor me. He probably knows I'm lying but he's still curious as to what's at the door. With any luck it's Annie, or any other of the guests I invited to Peeta's surprise party. I open the door, ready to embrace whoever is at the door.

I stop dead in my tracks.

_Well they sure as hell weren't on the guest list. _

On my doorstep stands a cute little boy with vivid green eyes and brown hair and a _very _pregnant woman whose son, I assume, is an exact replica of her. Next to her is, I presume, her husband; a handsome man in his late 20s with dark hair and intense gray eyes.

_My _intense gray eyes.

My "cousin".

My ex-best friend.

Gale Hawthorne.


	3. Chapter 3

**hope you like it!**

**review please! :)**

**and thank you so much for all of you that have already reviewed! i really appreciate it ! 3**

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><p>"Gale," I say evenly, "Didn't plan on seeing you here today." <em>Or ever, for that matter. <em>

"Who's at the door, sweetheart?" Peeta says, using Haymitch's word of 'endearment.' He obviously is still playing along with my little charade, unaware of Gale's presence.

"It's Gale and his…" I struggle with the word "family." I hear Peeta get off his stool and come toward the door.

"Well, we came to visit my mother and Rory and Posy. I just thought we'd drop by, it being Peeta's birthday and all." Gale smiles a cruel, smug smile at me and looks at me with those eyes. It takes everything I have to not slap the look off his face. _The nerve to come and ruin Peeta's birthday! Because those are obviously his intentions. Why else would he show up uninvited, towing his wife and kid? That son of…_

"Hello Gale!" Peeta says, interrupting my train of thought. "How have you been? It's been so long."

"Yes, long time, no see." Gale responds, nonchalantly.

Ugh, Peeta's so good with words. They sound friendly and inviting, like he genuinely cares about Gale, while I sounded so distant and mechanical. I snap back into reality.

"Well, uh, come in please." I say, trying to sound pleasant.

I can already tell this is going to be a long afternoon. I usher them inside and sit them in the living room, and bring them some small appetizer platters I had saved for the party.

All four of us sit down, Peeta and me on one couch and Gale and his wife on another. After a few awkward seconds, Peeta finally breaks the ice.

"Would you be so kind as to introduce your-" he contemplates his word choice, "lovely companion, Gale?" Peeta says, gesturing to the pregnant girl.

"Wife," Gale corrects him. _No shit. _Peeta can sense my anxiety, and takes my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. This immediately calms me.

"8 years next month." He says, smiling at his wife.

"Peeta, Katniss," his voice falter a little on my name, but he regains his composure. "This is my wife and the love of my life, Lydia." His wife, Lydia apparently, blushes slightly. I don't know if it's just me but Gale's words sound forced, as if he doesn't really mean them. _Are you stupid Katniss? How can he _not _love her? He's been with her for 8 years, they have, are going to have, 2 kids. _I take in a deep breath and notice everyone is staring at me.

"Nice to meet you, Lydia." I say quietly and Peeta looks at me subtly but with questioning eyes. I shake my head discreetly, a sign telling him we'll talk about it later. He seems to understand.

"What about the little one?" Peeta says, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, this is Tristan." Gale says, ruffling the kid's hair. He's sitting on the floor between his parents, playing with something in his hands. Peeta looks at the child with almost fascination, probably wishing we had one of our own. _Soon enough, Peeta _I think.

"And how old are you?" Peeta asks, directing the question at Tristan. He ignores Peeta, obviously too absorbed in whatever he's playing with. Lydia clears her throat, trying to get Tristan's attention. He's completely oblivious and she answers for him, clearly embarrassed.

"He turned 7 just last month."

I nod toward her belly.

"You're expecting?" I ask her, rather bluntly.

"Yes," she says, radiance seems to roll off of her as she talks about her pregnancy. A pang of jealousy hits me and I wish more than anything that I was expecting too.

"Do you have children?" Lydia asks, and this question catches me off guard though I don't really know why. Peeta is about to answer, when I interrupt him.

"As a matter of fact, I'm with child right now." I say confidently. Gale's eyes widen, Peeta looks at me, perplexed, and Lydia looks genuinely happy.

"Is this your first child? You must be so excited! How many months are you long? How do you feel?" All these question pour out of Lydia. _What the hell did I just get myself into? _I think. _I need to get out fast before I say something stupid. _

There's a knock on the door.

_Well that was convenient. _

"I'll get that." I say a little too eagerly. I walk toward the door, glad to have a reason to leave the room. I can feel Peeta's questioning eyes on me but I try to ignore them. I'll have to explain everything to him later. I sigh at the thought. I open the door and find Annie there, with her young son and a toddler in her arms.

"Dylan, I haven't seen you in so long! I missed you!" I say, embracing the 8-year old. He is an exact replica of his father; the bronze hair, the sea-green eyes, the golden tan skin, and that makes his presence so much more bitter-sweet.

"I missed you too, Aunt Katniss! I wish I could live here with you and Uncle Peeta, but there's no water here." I smile at his random comment.

"Tell you what; if we have time tomorrow I'll take you to this really nice lake in the woods." His eyes brighten and he hugs me.

"Thank you, Aunt Katniss!" I chuckle and ruffle his thick hair.

"You're welcome. Now go inside and say hi to Peeta." He nods and runs off toward the living room.

I embrace Annie, and seeing the confusion in my face as I see the toddler in her arms, she quickly introduces her.

"Katniss, this is Marilyn, my daughter." My eyes widen and I make no attempt to hide my surprise. _The girl is at least 2 years old. Why did Annie fail to tell me she was pregnant? Did she really get over Finnick? Enough to be with someone else? _Annie seems to pick up my mood rather quickly and explains.

"She's not really my daughter, biologically I mean. I adopted her a year ago." My face relaxes, and I'm embarrassed for overreacting. _She loved Finnick more than anything; of course she wouldn't go with another man._

"I'm sorry for overreacting, Annie. I was just a little surprised. And she looks so much like you I thought…" I say, apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, Katniss" She assures me, giving me a hug. She frowns slightly.

"But what's wrong with you? Is something wrong?" For being so quiet at times, Annie was really perceptive.

"It's just I told Gale and company I was pregnant but I'm not and just the fact that he's here…"

"Wait, Gale is here?" She asks quietly, her frown deepening.

"Unfortunately," I say, grasping my elbows.

"That bastard," she whispers with hushed rage, as anger starts to sprout on her delicate features. I look at her, confused at her sudden resentment. She doesn't bother to answer the confused look on my face. She hands me her daughter and I obediently take Marilyn and place her on my hip.

Annie casually walks into the living room, where Haymitch is now present, and heads straight toward where Gale is. He sees her and the blood starts to leave his face.

"Annie," Gale says with false cheerfulness, "How are yo-" His greeting is interrupted by the sound of the slap to his face.

"That's for calling me a stupid, frightened whore." Annie says silently but with so much fury she might as well me screaming it. Everyone falls silent, even the kids, and stares at them

"And this," she says, slapping him again, "Is for calling Finnick a useless, superficial coward," Annie's voice lowers slightly but it's still loud enough for the rest of us to hear,

"and for letting him die." Her voice cracks on the last words and I can tell she's on the verge of a breakdown. I walk toward her, trying to help her, but she just simply shakes her head and walks out of the room as if nothing happened.

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><p><strong>sorry if Annie is kind of OOC, but in this story she's a little more "grown up" and less scared, i guess.<strong>

**And i also apologize if you really love Gale because i'm making him look like such a jerk! :(  
>but HEY! i story has to have a plot right ;D<strong>

**all in all, people change over time, for better or worse, and characters are people so yeahh! **


	4. Chapter 4

**hello lovely readers! I apologize again for taking long to upload but I have no valid excuse :( please don't be angry with me:) **

**I want to thank each and every one of you that favorited, followed, or reviewed my story! (especially if you reviewed) :D :D**

**Reading those reviews made my day!:)**

**YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!**

**hope you enjoy this chapter :D**

**disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games :(**

**by the way, this chapter was originally going to be 2 separate chapters but they were both kinda short so I decided to mush them together :P**

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><p>Gale just sits, stunned by what just happened. Haymitch tries to suppress his smile and Lydia looks flustered and rather angry. Peeta just stares at me, waiting for my reaction. I turn away from them, still holding Marilyn, and walk toward where Annie went. I hear someone following me, probably Peeta, and find Annie in the bathroom, sitting against the wall with her hands covering her ears and tears streaming from her face. Annie looks up, sees her daughter, and tries to compose herself but it's clearly not working. Marilyn sees her distraught mother and starts whimpering.<p>

"Here, take care away from here." I say, blindly handing Marilyn behind me toward Peeta.

"Uh, I 'm not good with kids, sweetheart."

_Sweetheart? _I turn around and see it's Haymitch behind me, not Peeta. I put the toddler in his arms, positioning him to hold her.

"Just take her to Peeta, okay?" I tell him.

"Are you sure you can take care of Annie?" He says, his voice full of concern and worry. I look at Haymitch for a second and realize for the first time he probably knows Annie rather well from all those years mentoring kids; maybe even grown to be a strange sort of father figure for her.

"I can handle it." I tell him, giving a reassuring nod.

"Now go, take Marilyn to Peeta and get Gale the hell out of my house." Haymitch chuckles and walks out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I sit down on the floor next to Annie, where she seems a little calmer, or at least she's not covering her ears anymore. I grab a cloth from the sink and wipe the tears away from her cheeks.

"Annie, it's okay," I can't really think of anything else to say to her; she seems to be calming down on her own. I guess after all these years without Finnick, and having to be strong for her kids, she's learned to calm down by herself. I grab her hand and make little circles on it, like I had seen Finnick do so many years ago. This calms Annie even more and she starts to breathe normally.

"If I was pregnant, I would name my baby Finnick," I say randomly, not really talking to anyone in particular.

"And every time I'd say my little boy's name, I would remember him. How he helped me and Peeta. How he helped you. How he helped everyone." My voice cracks and now I'm the one that has to be comforted. Annie wraps me in her arms and strokes my hair, as a mother would do to her young child.

"Why did you tell them you were pregnant?" she asks.

"I-I'm not sure," I say, faltering a little, "I guess it's because I _want _to be pregnant. I want to give Peeta a child. I want to have _his_ child."

"Having a child is a beautiful thing, Katniss. It will bring you and Peeta closer than you already are. Every time I see Dylan, I see his father. And I don't know where I should cry or smile at his memory, but I chose to smile. I chose to be happy and even though," She sniffles, "even though Finnick isn't here with me to-to"A couple tears fall down Annie's face and I can tell this has been too much for her.

I gently free myself from her embrace and stand up, stretching my hand toward her to pull her up. Annie stands up and gives me a small smile.

"Thank you, Annie." I say, hugging her again.

"No, Katniss, thank you. And I'm sure Finnick would be honored to be your son's namesake."

I smile at her, thankful for her friendship, and she places a kiss on my forehead, another motherly gesture. As fragile as Annie could be at times, I see her as a mother-like figure, even though she's only a couple years older than me.

Right then, Dylan comes in.

"Uncle Peeta said that you can come down now." We both smile at him but I can see a hint of sadness in Annie's eyes as she sees Finnick in her son.

"C'mon mommy, I want Uncle Peeta to open his presents already." He says, pulling on Annie's hand.

"Alright, alright we're going!" I tell him playfully and tickle his side. Dylan giggles and we all make our way downstairs.

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><p>"Thank you for the party, Katniss." Peeta says, placing a kiss on my forehead as we lay in bed.<p>

After Gale left, he apparently didn't need to be kicked out as I had instructed Haymitch; he had gone on his own, the party got relatively better. Johanna got there a while later and some of our friends we had met in District 13 who had moved to District 12. I even managed to get a hold of Delly Cartwright, who had stayed in District 13, and invite her to the party. She came with her small daughter, Annabell, who everyone fell in love with the second they saw her.

It turned out Delly was a better baker than me, though no where as good as Peeta, and we were able to bake him a decent cake. At the end of the night, Johanna, Annie and her kids, and Delly and Annabell went to sleep in one of the "victor" houses, though we now use them as guest houses. I think about the entire day and the party, and sigh happily.

_Well you're party's not over yet, Peeta _I think._ You still have one last surprise._

I kiss Peeta once, a long lingering kiss, and look into his eyes suggestively. He kisses me back, tentatively, and lies down on his back.

I take my chance.

I climb onto him and sit on top of his abdomen, one leg on each side, kneeling. I lean forward and kiss him. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer. He kisses me gently at first, placing kisses on my mouth, my jaw, my neck, going lower and lower until he reaches my cleavage. I nibble on his ear and he lets a noise escape the back of his throat. His lips find mine again, kissing me fervently, asking me for passage. I open my mouth and allow our tongues to dance.

He gently rolls us over, so that he is on top of me, but he places his hands upright on either side of me so that his weight is distributed on his hands and not on me. We continue kissing each other with growing intensity and just as I think that we'll finally take that extra step, finally go where we haven't gone before, he speaks.

"Why did you say you were pregnant?" Peeta asks, randomly, as if he had just now remembered the incident earlier today.

"Does it really matter anymore, Peeta? I'll be pregnant soon enough." I say. I nibble on his ear, because I know it drives him crazy and hopefully distracts him. He shivers and stifles a moan.

"But are you doing it for the right reasons?" he asks, and the hurt in his voice catches me off guard.

"What do you mean 'the right reasons'"? The tone in his voice surprises me. _This is killing my mood. _I think. _Where is he going with this?_

"Are you doing it because you want to have a child with me or because it's some weird competition with Gale?" He spits, pulling slightly away from me, just enough so that I can't kiss him.

"What the hell are you talking about, Peeta?" I say, not bothering to mask the hurt and confusion in it. "I want to do this because I love you and because I want you to be the father of our children. Just forget Gale. Please, Peeta. You are the only one that matters now." He must see that honesty in my eyes and kisses me once on the lips.

"I believe you, Katniss, I'm sorry. If your mad, I understand." he says.

Frankly, I don't blame him for thinking that. Maybe I said I was pregnant because I was jealous of Gale for having children, but now, this, I honestly wanted to do this because I love Peeta. I want to give Peeta every part of me, show him all of me. I kiss him once and look into his eyes.

"I'm not mad, Peeta. I just want you to understand that this is what I want for us. And it has nothing to do with anyone else."

We continue kissing and soon there is no clothing between are bodies. And as the night went on, I finally give Peeta his last birthday surprise.

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><p><strong>I, myself, am not very proud of this chapter, it's kind of sucky-ish so I'm sorry if you don't like it but I tried :]<strong>

**please remember to review even if you hate it! ;P**

**and please tell me what you think of the characters:)**

**have a good day:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**hello people!**

**tried to make this one a little longer to make up the fact that I probably won't update until Monday/Tuesday :/**

**thinking about deleting the preview... what do you guys thing? :3**

**well hope you like this!**

**and just to show how much dedication I have, it is 3 am right now… yup that's right I stayed up writing just for you, the lovely readers! :D**

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><p>I wake up slowly, taking my time to sit up and stretch. My body feels sore and my lips are still a little swollen from last night. I blush at the thought of what happened but I smile as well. I get out of bed and see a little note on my bedside drawer. It reads:<p>

_Good Morning Beautiful. Got up a little earlier than usual to make breakfast for the guests, didn't want to wake you. I'm sorry I won't be able to kiss you first thing this morning, but I'll be waiting downstairs for you. I love you, Katniss._

_-Peeta_

I smile at the note but then feel a little deflated because he didn't say anything about last night.

_Maybe he didn't like it Katniss, t_he negative voice in my head starts to say. _Maybe you just made a fool of yourself._

I shake my head, ridding myself of those thoughts. _He probably wants to tell me in person _I think _not over some handwritten note. _

I make my way to the bathroom and take a quick shower. I look at myself in the mirror and place my hand over my abdomen.

_I wonder if I'm pregnant. Is one time enough? _I roll my eyes at myself. It's too early to be thinking about these things. Wanting a baby doesn't make it come any faster. I finish changing and braid back my hair.

"Katniss, you awake?" Peeta asks. I guess he hears me coming down the stairs.

"No," I respond playfully. I can hear him chuckle as he makes his way toward the stairs. I practically fly into his arms when he comes into view and start kissing him.

Someone clears their throat.

Peeta starts laughing and I finally notice there are people watching us from the kitchen. Well not random people, it's our guest, but I had still completely forgot they were here. Johanna looks at us, amused, and Annie is smiling slightly. Annabell covers her eyes like any little kid would when seeing adults kiss and Dylan is so absorbed in his food, he doesn't even notice us.

"Uh, Good morning." I say awkwardly and take my place at the table. Peeta sets a plate of bread, egg, and vegetables in front of me and a start to eat.

"Well, looks like we got a little preview of what happened last night." Johanna says with a smirk. Both Peeta and I start blushing, and I stare daggers at her. _At least I get some. _I think, noticing she's the only one of us who's not in some sort of commitment. Johanna seems to read my thoughts and raises her eyebrows at me, daring me to voice my thought. I can't help but take the bait.

"Shut up, Johanna. You're just jealous because you don't have anyone." That sounds overly rude to my own ears but she just irritates me so much…

"Katniss!" Both Annie and Peeta say, surprised. A smile spreads across Johanna's face. _Okay, definitely not the reaction I was going for._

"As a matter of fact I do," She says triumphantly. "And, as a matter of fact" she says again, putting emphasis on those words. "His train should be pulling into District 12's station right now." She gets up and haughtily walks out the door, presumably to the train station.

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><p>Everyone just stares at each other, a little awkwardly. Peeta clears his throat.<p>

"Well, breakfast was wonderful."Delly said, cheerful as ever, "Wish my husband was this good a cook!" We all chuckle and the tension noticeably lessens.

"So what's your husband like?" Annie politely asks. Delly's eyes light up at the mention and she starts talking about him like crazy.

"I think you and Andrew would get along great, Peeta!" she says, "He _loves _artwork! But he can't paint or draw for his life!" Delly looks around a little nervously, probably noticing her word choice wasn't the best. All of us present, except her, have been in life-or-death situations. I smile at her, encouraging her to go on, and she does.

"I think he'd be completely fascinated with your paintings." Delly says at Peeta. I catch is eye and smile. He rolls his eyes at me playfully without Delly noticing and smiles at her.

"Such a shame he couldn't come today! But we'll make time one day for all of us to come, maybe have a cup of tea."

"Oh yes, you are welcome here anytime." Peeta says genuinely enthusiastic. I'm so glad I thought of inviting Delly. Though me and Delly aren't very close she is Peeta's best friend.

His best friend.

Where's_ my_ best friend?

_He's probably screwing his wife_ I think harshly

He's probably gonna skip off into the sunset with her and little_ Tristan, _completely forgetting me here.

_But I'm not his to forget _I remind myself.

My chest tightens and I struggle to keep my composure as I finally have a small taste of what Gale felt when I chose Peeta. This feeling of betrayal, hurt, anger. Probably maximized by ten for Gale, because he didn't have anyone, well back them. I have Peeta.

Peeta who loves me unconditionally. Who has gone through hell and back for me. Who would give me anything and everything and ask for nothing in return. Peeta, my boy with the bread, the boy I sometimes take for granted. I look at Peeta longingly but sadness clouds my eyes. How I wish he could just wrap me up in his arms right now, hug me tight, and kiss away all my thoughts about anything but him.

A knock on the door brings me out of my daydreaming and I look at Peeta, puzzled.

"It's probably Johanna getting back from the train station." Annie says, noticing my confusion. I had all but forgotten about her, wrapped up in my silly thoughts. Peeta opens the door and lets them in. I hear them make their way toward the kitchen and brace myself for Johanna's smirk.

Peeta comes in first and sits down next to me, smiling. Then comes in Johanna and a boy, a man really, with dark shaggy hair, almost as dark as mine, and green eyes that seem to change shades as you look at them. They walk in, hand in hand, and I'm surprised to see Johanna isn't smirking, she's genuinely smiling. The usually hostile aura she involuntarily gives off isn't so prominent, and this boy obviously has something to do with it. He looks around a little nervously and Johanna quickly introduces him.

"Everyone this is Damian, my boyfriend." Johanna says with a small smile. I smile at how innocent and girlish Johanna looks, even though she's older than me. Annie quickly stands up and shakes his hand warmly.

"I'm Annabeth, but you can call me Annie. This is my son, Dylan," She says, ruffling the kid's hair.

"My husband, Finnick, and Johanna were close friends." She adds, and sadness gently surfaces on her features. Pity flashes in Damian's eyes and then sympathy in his face. He clearer knows who Finnick is, Johanna must've told him, and what his fate was.

"Pleasure to meet you," he tells Annie gently.

"And you," he playfully says to Dylan, bending down to his level and shaking his hand.

"This is Katniss and Peeta" Johanna says, pointing at us. Damian shakes our hands eagerly.

"Pleasure to finally meet you," He says respectfully. _This is weird _I think. And it's not because it's an awkward situation it's just that it looks like how I imagine a teenage girl would introduce her boyfriend to her parents for the first time. What makes everything more strange is that Johanna is older than everyone here (beating Annie by a couple months), so it's more like asking her younger siblings for approval than her parents. I smile at both Johanna and Damian. _You're still the most annoying, obnoxious person in Panem _I think, directing my thoughts at Johanna _But I'm happy for you. _

"Here, take a seat Damian," Peeta says amicably, sitting Damian down on his other side with Johanna next to him. Delly looks a little flustered that she wasn't introduced but quickly does so herself.

"I'm Delly, a close friend of Peeta's" she says, stretching her hand out to Damian. He shakes it.

"Nice to meet you, Delly."

She looks satisfied and continues on playing with Annabell.

Peeta starts talking with Damian right away, asking him where's he's from, about his family, his goals. _Peeta's playing the father role _I think and snort quietly.

"Born and raised in District 2." Damian says. The mention of that district makes my skin crawl. Cato and Clove come to mind. More shudders.

"I met Johanna there." he says, placing a arm around her lovingly.

"She was there for some official business a couple years back and I ran into her at one of the buildings. Haven't taken my eyes off of her since." Damian looks at her affectionately and Johanna blushes a little. I make a mental note to make fun of her for this later. He caresses her face gently and continues on with the conversation.

Johanna looks at him intently while Damian talks, seeming to hang off his every word. There's something about her gestures, her expression, her being when she's there with Damian that reminds me of someone. It takes me a while to figure out that she reminds me of me. \

The girl on fire who had all this anger and fury inside her that causes her to be reckless.

I am like this. Johanna is like this.

But we both have someone that calms us down, that tells us everything will be alright. The one who protects us and keeps the fire inside us at bay.

We both have our dandelion in the spring.

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><p><strong>so watcha think? :D<strong>

**please review, it means the world to me! :D**

**happy holidays(:**


	6. Chapter 6

**helloooo! I'm not even going to bother to give excuses or tell you to not pelt me with tomatoes… I kinda deserve it :c **

**But ALAS! Here is the new chapter! :D**

**I wrote more than half of chapter 7 already so expect that to be up by Thursday at latest. :)**

**Please remember to review, favorite, follow! :D**

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><p>"He scares me a little." I whisper to Peeta, giggling, as the doctor steps out of the room. His grip on my hand tightens.<p>

"Don't be, Katniss. He may look like a killer clown but I'm sure he's tame." Peeta cracks a smile and I laugh. We are in the Capitol, and despite being under better government, the people are crazy as ever. This doctor has bright orange hair and beard and the nurse has purple skin.

Bad habits die hard, apparently. Peeta had insisted I come to get my check up at a Capitol hospital. I was fine with the small doctors at Twelve, but he insisted our child deserved the best and most advanced.

Whatever.

"Well Mrs. Mellark, you are almost 5 months along and I'm happy to announce that your soon-to-be babies are exceedingly healthy."

"Babies?" Peeta asks. _Good, I wasn't the only one that heard wrong. _

"Yes babies. What did you think she's carrying? Puppies?" The doctor says, chuckling. My grip on Peeta's hand tightens as I grow angrier. _Does this doctor honestly think we're so ignorant? _

Peeta squeezes my hand slightly to calm me down.

"I'm not so ignorant as to think that, but I'm referring to the fact that you mentioned more than one child."

Oh Peeta, so good with words. If I would have opened my mouth a string of inappropriate words would've come out.

"Oh well, yes. She is expecting twin boys." My eyes open wide with shock. The doctor looks at me with an apologetic smile.

"Well you're abdomen wouldn't have been nearly this large if you were only carrying one child."He tells me. My hands automatically go to the prominent bump that is my abdomen. I really hadn't noticed how big it was. I just assumed your stomach area just kept bloating up until you gave birth. Of course I know all the biological things that are going on inside the body but I had never thought about it before. I honestly didn't care. In those years, I didn't plan on getting pregnant ,or even marrying, so it seemed pointless.

Peeta touches my face gently and I snap back into reality.

"Here, this is for you to keep." The doctor says and hands us a picture.

It's mostly black with two little, very vague baby-like figures in the center. It takes me a couple seconds to realize this is my womb and those are my baby boys. _Our _baby boys. Will they have blond hair that shines in the sun, or a dark fuzz of hair? Will they have my intense gray eyes, or Peeta's much softer blue ones? Will they look like boys from the seam, or the merchant class? A thousand questions dart around in my head and Peeta all but drags me out of the examination room, I'm so caught up in my thoughts.

"Make sure to come back if anything feels odd or just give me a call," the doctor calls after us.

"Thank you very much, Doctor. If anything happens, we'll tell you." Peeta says and I simply nod still lost in my thoughts.

We make it back to where the hovercraft is parked and get it. It takes about an hour to get back home to Twelve. Having been the Mockingjay and all, I get "special treatment" which translates into a private hovercraft available to and from the Capitol or any other District at all times. I can't say I like these extra things; I hate that it makes me seem superior than anyone else. But today I don't mind it. The sooner I get to my house in Twelve the better.

When we're flying over District 2, I get a tugging feeling in my heart.

_Goddammit Gale, why? Why do you always have to come into my mind? my heart? _

I close my eyes and take deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asks, hugging me from behind.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I tell him, managing a weak smile.

_If you only knew Peeta…_

"Twins, Katniss. I can't believe it." He mumbles into my neck.

"Yeah, it's pretty great." I say, trying to sound enthusiastic but my voice catches on the last word and tears flow from my eyes. Peeta quickly turns me around to face him, assesses the situation and pulls me into his chest.

"It's okay, Katniss." He says, comforting me for God knows what. "I know it's a lot to take in but we'll be fine." _No Peeta! _I want to scream at him. _It won't be fine because I'm still in love, in love with Gale! _

There.

I said it.

Well at least in my head.

_Wait, no what? _My own thoughts are confusing me

_This, this isn't true. I love Peeta. Sweet, caring Peeta. _

_But Gale, fierce and loyal_

_My first friend, my first lover, even if I didn't know it then…_

_No. _

_Loving Gale is not going to help anyone. _

_Not me, not my future children, and most definitely not Peeta. _

I look at Peeta with watery eyes, kiss him deeply and hug him tighter.

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><p>"What are we going to name them," I say, "the babies, I mean." Me and Peeta are lying in bed and my head rests on his shoulder and one of my hands is on my growing belly. He places his hand on top of mine and kisses my forehead.<p>

"Why don't you tell me first?" he says. I think about this and look down at my abdomen as if for inspiration.

"I like Finnick or Koda, maybe Jason." I say, a little timidly.

"Why?, if you don't mind my asking."

"For starters, Finnick saved your life at the arena." I flinch involuntarily, remembering the moment I saw Peeta stop breathing.

"When you were captured by Snow and tort-" I can barely get the word out. Peeta nods, understanding, and I continue.

"Finnick kept me sane Peeta. He gave me hope for the future. He died helping me, helping us. He helped you gain back my trust. The least I could do is name my son after him." Peeta nods, understanding my point.

"I like the name Finnick, especially if it's so special to you." He kisses my forehead and lingers there.

"What about Koda?" he asks.

"It means 'allies' so it's like putting all our friends from… the war, the Games, especially the Games, into one name."

Peeta strokes the hair out of my face and tentatively says, "Are you sure you want to name them something that's going to remind us of the Games, the suffering?" He voice falters a little on the last word.

"Let's face it, Peeta. We're never going to forget the Games, not in a million years! We might as well remember the very few good things that came out of it, like our friends." He sighs and, under his breath, says, "Yeah, friends who are dead."

I know I wasn't supposed to hear that, but I do, and all hell breaks loose.

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><p><strong>so watcha think? :D <strong>

**and sorry if Katniss is kind of OOC, but she's hormonal so give her a break ;P **


	7. Chapter 7

**hello everyone! here is chapter 7, as promised that I would have it by Thursday night :D woohoo! I actually made one of my deadlines :P**

**well hope you like it :)**

**remember to review! :D**

**and Writin Gale, I do so enjoy our conversations :D haha**

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><p>I shove myself off of Peeta and push him as hard as I can, managing to move him a couple centimeters at most. He sits up, looking a little bewildered.<p>

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT, PEETA? OF COURSE I KNOW! EVERYTIME I THINK OF THAT I FEEL LIKE," I struggle with words," LIKE A KNIFE IS BEHIND TURNED IN MY STOMACH! THEY-THEY'VE DONE _SO_ MUCH FOR ME PEETA! THE LEAST I CAN DO IS NAME MY KID AFTER THEM!" I'm pacing up and down the side of the bed, yelling my head off at Peeta and throwing anything I could get my hands on at him: shoes, pillows, clothes. It was a hot summer night, so I was only wearing my under clothes and that just made Peeta stare at me more.

"Katniss, I-"

"No Peeta!" I interrupt, "just shut up, okay? SHUT UP! You've said ENOUGH already! Just leave me ALONE!" My voice cracks on the last word and I run out of the room as the tears start to fall.

Ugh. I _hate_ being hormonal.

I can't think of anywhere else to go, plus I'm hungry, so I end up in the kitchen, eating some leftover raisin and nut bread and letting the tears fall freely. I lean against the far wall and slowly slide down to the floor until I'm sitting, closing my eyes, trying to block everything out.

_It's not your fault, Katniss _I tell myself _They died for a cause. It wasn't your fault _

I repeat these words over and over again in my head, trying hard to get it through my thick skull.

I hear Peeta's footsteps, loud as ever, coming down the hall.

"Leave me alone Peeta," I say weakly. He sits down next to me anyways and pulls me onto his lap and kisses my forehead.

"Not in a million years."

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><p>I don't know how I ended up in our room again; I guess I fell asleep in the kitchen last night and Peeta carried me up. He's probably downstairs now, making breakfast and waiting for me. I can't help but smile at the thought of Peeta, and that thought alone makes me want to get out of bed to go see him.<p>

I go to the bathroom, comb my hair, and quickly braid it back. It's still noticeably warm, so I just put on some shirt Peeta left on the chair. It's a plain, white t-shirt and fits snugly on Peeta's broad chest, but on me it looks like a sac dress, reaching me about mid-thigh.

I'm sure Peeta will get a kick out of it.

Whatever.

I run down the stairs and into the kitchen, expecting to see Peeta there, baking. I run into the kitchen but its empty, not even a trace that Peeta has been here. I immediately start worrying.

_What if Peeta got mad at my outburst last night and just left, I have been pretty rough on him. What if he's just fed up with my moodiness and decided to leave? Did he have enough heart to at least but me in the room before leaving? instead of just leaving me on the kitchen floor? Maybe, just maybe… _

I shake my head, trying to clear my head.

_No Katniss, _I tell myself, _Peeta loves you_

_,_ My hand reaches down to my abdomen

_he loves this child. He wouldn't just leave you. _

I hear footsteps behind me, and turn around, confused.

It's Peeta, who else would it be?

I jump into his arms, hugging him tightly and giving him kiss after kiss. He embraces me, a little startled, and kisses me back.

"Well good morning to you too, beautiful." He says with a smile. I smile back and keep kissing him, I can't help myself.

Peeta picks me up and carries me to the couch, me kissing him the short trip there.

He lies next to me and I across him, nuzzling his neck.

"Well, if this is my compensation for getting yelled at," he says with a smile "you should get mad more often." I nod my head and laugh. He smiles and looks at me intently. Peeta finally notices what I'm wearing and a larger smile starts to spread across his face.

"What is this you're wearing? Is it a new fashion?" He asks with mock interest. I scowl at him and he smiles, obviously enjoying himself. I kneel down next to the couch and stare at him, annoyed.

"Twirl for me, will ya?" I fold my arms across my chest and scoff.

"C'mon, sweetheart." He grabs my hand, pulling me upward, and gently spins me.

"Hmm," he ponders, amused. "Not my favorite dress on you, but you can certainly work it."

"This isn't funny, Peeta" I say but a smile is playing at the end of my lips. This is so ridiculous.

"_Definitely _not Cinna's best work, but I'll take it." My chest tightens at the mention of his name, the only person from the Capitol that wasn't completely crazy.

The one who risked his life for me. The one I saw beaten to near-death. I close my eyes tightly, and Peeta immediately notices the change in mood. He gets up quickly off the couch and embraces me tightly.

"Sorry, Katniss. I shouldn't joke about stuff like that. Especially while you're so…"I fill in the blank in my head: _hormonal, sensitive, annoying. _

He lets the sentence just hang off awkwardly and places a kiss on my forehead. I manage to not let the tears fall and keep my voice steady.

"It's okay, Peeta. I shouldn't be so damn sensitive." He tries to protest but I just place my finger to his lip, silencing him.

"So you really don't like this 'outfit', huh? Hmm, maybe we can change that..." I pull away from Peeta, sliding his shirt off of me, standing just in my under clothes. I blush slightly,

"Better?" I lock my hands behind his neck, looking into his eyes. Peeta doesn't answer he just stares with a smile on his face.

"You know it's not polite to stare." I tell him jokingly.

"You're so beautiful, it'd be a crime not to." He tells me with a smile. Peeta caresses my face and I blush a light red and kiss him.

"Now about your outfit…" I playfully wonder. He laughs.

"I'm just wearing pants, Katniss. What more do you want?" I raise my eyebrows,

"Do you really want to know?"

"I don't know, do I?" he challenges me. I pretend to think about it.

"I think you might." I say with a mischievous smile.

"Then tell me." Peeta says, using my same tone of voice. I whisper into his ear and he rolls his eyes jokingly.

"Your wish is my command." He takes off his pants, leaving only his boxers, and looks at me as if to say 'happy now?' He smiles and closes the distance between us, kissing me. He grabs me around the waist and I knot my fingers in his hair. Each kiss is more passionate and I find myself pushing myself closer to Peeta, wanting to me as close to him as possible. He senses this and lifts me up slightly, kissing my neck. I wrap my legs around his waist and he grabs my thighs to support me. Peeta starts walking (with any luck to the bedroom) while I cling to him, his lips never losing contact with my skin. He sets me down somewhere, the kitchen counter, and continues kissing me, replacing his hands on my waist. A noise escapes from the back of my throat and Peeta responds with a noise of his own.

"You might wanna try locking the door." A vaguely familiar voice says. Peeta stops kissing me and looks at me like '_who the hell is that?' _I turn toward the voice by the front door and I feel my face start to burn bright red. Peeta follows my gaze and immediately starts blushing worse than me.

The look on her face is so amused; I want to slap it off.

_To think I was gonna start being nice to her… _

In the doorway stands the most aggravating and sarcastic person in the entire country of Panem.

Johanna Mason.

As if that wasn't bad enough next to her is her fiancé, Damian*****, trying to avert his eyes and looking comically embarrassed.

_Oh Johanna _I think, while we all just are frozen, awkwardly _You are so dead__._

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><p><em><strong>*thank you to Kilimanjaren for helping me correct my name mistake :S :D <strong>  
><em>


	8. Update! I'm sorry! :S

*Waits until everyone stops throwing tomatoes at me*

Hey guys! I didn't die! :D

you honestly don't know how INCREDIBLEY SORRY I am for not updating or anything in like, what, two months?

I know this isn't an excuse but I have been literally drowning in schoolwork. It seems like all my teachers decided to give me the hardest projects in the same series of weeks.

I apologize from the bottom of my writer heart to all you lovely readers.

Another reason that I haven't updated is I have somewhat of writer's block :S I have maybe a quarter of the next chapter written (with the whole Johanna thing) but I'm not sure what to do after that.

So, please, I'm asking you, the lovely readers, for a little bit of help. I know some of you might think that I'm being "unoriginal" by not coming up with the ideas on my own but hey! all I'm asking for is a little help. I'm more or less sure of what's going to happen in kind of the long term plot of the story but I'm a little unsure of what to do in these next couple of chapters.

Schoolwork is barely starting to ease up but I'm busy this weekend so I can't really promise when I'll have a chapter up. On Monday I don't have school so I might be able to get more done.

Spring break is in two weeks so I will DEFINITLY have something up by then!

Due to my writer's block, I started writing another thing based off Johanna (it's probably gonna be a one shot) and I'm gonna try to get it up my March 23 in celebration of the HUGNER GAMES MOVIE! :DDDDD

Anyways look out for that and please find the mercy in your heart to forgive me!

And am I the only one that stars FREAKING OUT when a Hunger Games trailer comes on TV? My mom is looking at me like I'm crazy xD

BYE GUYS! see ya soon!(:

p.s. I also apologize for all the people that though this was an actual chapter and not just an author's note x3


	9. Chapter 8

**HELLO READERS! I'M BACK! :D**

**just like I promised (kinda)**

**Well I'm on spring break now (hurray!) so I've been working a lot on my fanfiction stuff though not as much as I would like :( **

**I got assigned two essays, a project for school, and on top of that I have to clean the house on an almost daily basis :P **

**oh yeah and for any Clato people I put up a one-shot if you wanna check that out (yes, that was me shamelessly advertising myself c; **

**I'm working on a Johanna one-shot, a Kato one-shot, and one with Katniss and Peeta's kids, in other words, I am a busy, busy person :D **

**I will try to get another chapter for this story up by the end of spring break (which is this Sunday) :D**

**ANYWHO,,**

**hope you guys aren't too mad and me and please review: tell me if you love it, hate it, or whatever!**

**Enjoy :D**

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><p>"We'll just um, step, um, outside now," Damian says, averting his eyes and stepping outside, dragging Johanna with him. She can barely contain her laughter as she is pushed out of the room.<p>

"Well that was…" Peeta says kind of pathetically, leaving the sentencing hanging out. I jump off the counter and walk to where the very few clothes I was wearing are, shoving them back on.

"WHO THE HELL DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? COMING INTO _MY _HOUSE LIKE THAT!" I scream as I throw Peeta's clothes at him.

"Please, Katniss, calm down," Peeta tells me but I can't. I'm too wound up.

"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE ANYWAYS? WHY WOULD SHE JUST COME IN UNANNOUNCED LIKE THAT! I DON'T EVEN LIKE HER!" I yell at Peeta, as if it was his fault. I start stomping toward the door, ready to give Johanna a piece of my mind, but Peeta grabs me by the arm and pulls me back.

"Stop, Katniss. Don't do anything stupid." He tells me calmly.

"SHE'S THE STUPID ONE!" I yell right in his face, though it makes no sense. Peeta knows he can't reason with me and places a light kiss on my lips to shut me up, much like how I used to kiss him to shut him up back in the cave in the Arena…

I shudder at the thought.

I do calm down though and Peeta tells me to go upstairs and change into some 'decent.' I hand him his shirt that I was wearing, he slides it on and gives me another light kiss. I walk toward the stairs, swinging my hips more than usual, and I can feel Peeta's eyes on me. I smirk and make my way of the stairs.

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><p>I quickly change into some maternity shorts, which are just regular shorts with a stretchy type thing on top so it can fit snugly over your belly and a relatively tight top. It makes my bigger-than-normal belly seem bigger. I place my hands around it lovingly and am surprised when I few tears slip out from my eyes. I wipe them away quickly and head on back downstairs. I hear Johanna's voice carrying from the kitchen and my hands immediately ball up. I stalk into the kitchen, ready to smack Johanna across the face. I walk in just as Peeta is saying 'Congratulations' and hugging both Damian and Johanna around the neck.<p>

_What the hell…_

I didn't notice I had said that aloud and Johanna looks at me, trying to smirk but she looks so love-struck it doesn't look right.

"Well I was just telling Peeta that…" She starts but Damian grabs her hand and finishes her sentence. "That Johanna and I are expecting." She blushes a little and Damian gingerly places his hand on her abdomen, as if to prove his point. All my irrational anger is thrown aside and I throw my arms around Johanna.

"I am so happy for you!" I tell her genuinely and kiss her cheek. She freezes for a second and hugs me back. "How far are you along?" I ask her as we sit down at the table.

"Uh, Peeta can we take a walk, I need to … talk to you." Damian says randomly.

"Sure," Peeta says and places two glasses of lemonade in front of us. "We'll leave you two ladies to chat." He says and winks at me. I blush and Johanna rolls her eyes.

"I swear, you two act like your still innocent lovers, not married and with a baby on the way" She says with a chuckle. I roll my eyes at her lightheartedly and look at her expectantly, waiting for an answer to my previous question

She smiles and says, "I'm a little over a month, about six weeks."

"How do you feel?" I ask her. She smiles again and looks at her drink.

"Weird" she says simply and sips some lemonade.

"Wow, what a fast array of emotions this mother-to-be feels" I say, my voice thick with sarcasm and irritation.

She chuckles.

"Someone's bipolar"

"It's actually called hormonal, look forward to it. You'll be like this in a couple of months."

"I think you're _always _like that"

"Bite me"

"God forbid" she says and smirks. This makes me laugh for some reason, maybe it's the stupid bantering, but soon we're both having trouble breathing from all the laughing.

"God, I've missed your annoying ass," she tells me, smiling.

"Likewise," I say, smiling back. "But honestly, what do you feel, _how _do you feel?" She sighs and cups her hands around the cup.

"It just feels… strange. Knowing you're gonna be a mom and all. I never thought I would have kids. I never thought I would feel the way that I feel for Damian. I didn't think I would ever love again." She stares intently at her cup, probably trying to avoid my curious gaze. Johanna never talks about her feelings, but I guess Damian really has softened her up.

"Well Ms. Mason, that was quite a deep, heartfelt story you just told," I say jokingly, but with sincerity in my eyes. She rolls her eyes at me but smiles.

"It's actually _Mrs. _Knightly now," she says mischievously. I gape at her and reach out to smack her arm. Apparently I hit her harder then I had meant to because she glares at me and rubs her arm.

"Why the _hell _didn't you tell me you got married?" I tell her, "And why the _hell _wasn't I invited?" I'm mostly joking but I'm genuinely surprised Johanna did that.

"Well, it was a kinda spur of the moment thing. We had already been engaged for a couple months and about 2 months ago we just got married. When out to dinner afterwards, got home and well you know…" She says awkwardly and starts blushing. I laugh at her rare awkwardness. I don't even have time to make fun of her because Haymitch comes barging in through the back door, Damian and Peeta in tow.

"Well I found these two kissing behind the apple tree!" he says with huge smirk on his face. Both boys behind him look bewildered and, for some reason, this rubs me the wrong way.

"WHAT?" I yell, ready to smack all three of them across the face.

"Jesus, sweetheart, calm down; I'm kidding," he says with a stupid grin on his face. "Do you really doubt his sexuality that much?" Haymitch asks me, smirking again. I punch him hard in the arm.

"Dammit, Haymitch. You know you're not supposed to mess around with a hormonal woman. And _no, _I don't doubt Peeta's sexuality, he's obviously man enough," I say, holding my belly and raising my eyebrows. Peeta blushes and Damian just looks embarrassed. He has _so _much to get used to. We are a strange bunch, now that I think about it. Poor Damian, probably didn't even know what he was getting into. I chuckle at the thought.

"Whatever, sweetheart," he says with a laugh and seems to finally notice Johanna.

"Heard you tied the knot, girl, congratulations! You are forever bound to," he points at Damian, "that man." Johanna rolls her eyes and gives Haymitch a hug.

"Sorry, kid." Haymitch says, now to Damian. "She's kind of a crazy one, but there's no going back now." Upon hearing this, playfully Johanna smacks Haymitch across the head and walks over to Damian, who is _still _looking comically embarrassed. He wraps his arm protectively around Johanna's waist and she smirks at Haymitch.

"He sure likes me well enough 'cause I'm pregnant," she says, confidently.

"Jo! I thought we weren't gonna tell people yet," Damian says, looking surprised.

"Why the hell not!" She growls but immediately catches herself and apologizes. "Sorry, babe, didn't mean to snap, but these people are like family. Our baby is gonna call that old, drunk wise ass who is one of the greatest men I know," she says, smiling and pointing at Haymitch, "grandpa. And she or he will call that obnoxious, headstrong person I love, auntie." She smiles at me and I get tears in my eyes.

"When did you become so soft, girl?" Haymitch asks, but I see that his eyes are shining over with tears. Damian smiles and Johanna's eyes start to water. Peeta pulls us all into a tight group hug.

"Welcome to the family, Damian," Peeta says sincerely.

"Yes, welcome, kid. You are now subject to be tormented, smacked, made fun of, and/or annoyed without pity by all present, especially Mrs. Mellark over here and I," Haymitch adds. Damian's eyes widen, either in confusion or dread, I'm not sure. Haymitch lets out a laugh at his expression.

"Just kidding, kid," he adds, smiling. Damian looks relieved and finally seems to be at ease with us, as the crazy, wound-up family that we are.

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><p><strong>Sooo watcha think? :)<strong>

**review it please :D**

**have an amzing day(: **


	10. Chapter 9

**HEY READERS!**

**wow I can't believe I updated so soon xD haha**

**no obnoxiously long author's note today :P lol**

**so ENJOY :D**

**btw: I do NOT own the hunger games (obviously) :p**

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><p>"I'm going over to Haymitch's real quick. I'll be <em>right back,<em>" Peeta says, stressing those last two words. Ever since I entered my last month of pregnancy Peeta hasn't left my side once. He keeps saying that it could 'happen at every moment' and that we 'have to be prepared'. I swear I think he's more worried about it than me, and he's not that one that has to give birth.

"I'll be fine, Peeta," I call out to him as I hear the door close gently. The phone rings and I sigh. _Crap it's probably the doctor from the Capitol, bitching that I haven't gone to an appointment. _I think about screening the call but decide to just get it over with.

I waddle over to the phone and pick up, "Hello?"

"Katniss?" I voice responds, a voice I know entirely too well.

"What the hell do you want, Gale?" I growl into the phone.

"I-I need to talk to you," he says, stuttering. I tap my foot impatiently, though I know he can't hear it.

"Well…" I say, growing more impatient.

"Look out your back door."

_the hell… _ I think and leave the phone hanging off the cord. I waddle to the back door and open it, not completely surprised to find Gale standing there.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I whisper at him, irritated. _Anyone can see us right now, this isn't good. _

"I needed to see you, Katniss. I need to tell you that, that I love you. I always will and-" I cut him off, pissed as hell.

"Frankly, I don't give a damn anymore, Gale! It's – it's too late. I have Peeta and a child and you have your family! It's too fucking lat for anything anymore." I say, but even to my own ears I sound … disappointed, and it bothers me.

"It's never too late for anything, Catnip," he whispers, cradling my face in his hands and kissing my lips. I pull back reflexively.

"Gale," I say angry at first, but my tone weakens, "Gale, please don't do this to me. I can't take it." He completely ignores me and kisses me again but this time I don't pull back. He pulls me as close as he cans because of my belly and I knot my fingers in his hair. The kiss deepens more so but before anything else can happen I hear footsteps behind me. I turn around and see Peeta there, standing in shock.

"Katniss?" he asks. The blood drains my face and I am tongue-tied.

"P-Peeta I swear, it's not what it looks like. I know it looks bad but…" He just stares at me and repeats my name again. Gale smirks and whispers into my ear, seductively, "Wake up." _Wake up, what the hell? _Peeta comes from behind me and shakes my shoulders.

"Katniss! Katniss!" he says over and over again. Everything goes dark for a second and I wake up on the couch. I look around confused. _It was just a nightmare _I tell myself _Or is it considered a dream…?_

Peeta looks at me, eyes full of concern, and I immediately feel guilty.  
>"Are you ok, Katniss?" he asks me, placing a damp piece of hair behind my ear. "I thought you were having a nightmare, but you kept calling Gale's name and…" he leaves it like that and I blush for some reason, feeling instantly guilty again.<p>

"It was just a bad dream about Prim and the whole bomb thing with Gale," I lie because I can't tell him the truth. Peeta knows I'm lying, he must know, I suck at lying but I guess he assumes I just don't want to talk about it now.

"Are you ok now?"he asks again, looking doubtful.

"Yes, I'm fine now. Thanks, Peeta," I tell him lovingly and he places a kiss on my forehead.

"Well, it's a good thing you're awake anyway. I was gonna run over to Haymitch's real quick,"

I have that sense of Déjà vu and I know that I just dreamt this.

"You gonna be ok?" Peeta asks me, concern in his eyes. I know he doesn't want to leave me by myself, even if he's only going a couple houses down, but he's not about to make me waddle there and back in my state. I simply nod and he places another kiss on my forehead.

"I'll be right back," he tells me with a smile. The door shuts behind him and I exhale deeply. _If that phone rings, it's going to be the creepiest shit-_ My thoughts are interrupted by the shrill sound of the phone ringing. I freeze and reluctantly make my way to the phone.

"He-Hello?" I whisper in the phone, scared out of my mind.

"Holy fucking shit," I let out a sigh of relief when I notice the person on the other side of the receiver isn't Gale but, in fact, Johanna.

"What's wrong?" I ask her, curious.

"I'm pregnant…" she tells me. I laugh into the speaker and roll my eyes, though she obviously can't see me.

"I think we've established that already, Joh-" she interrupts me.

"With twins," she finishes. I just stand gaping at the phone, unsure of what to say.

"Um, congratulations?" I say. Normally that would be a good think, I would guess, but Johanna sounded kind of pissed about it. Granted, she sounds kind of pissed at just about everything.

"Thanks, brainless," she says with a laugh. "Sorry for being dramatic right then, I kind of just found out right now." I laugh, relieved that she isn't mad.

"It's okay. What did Damian say?"

"Well, he doesn't know yet. I just got the call from the doctor telling me I was expecting twins and Damian's still at work."

"Oh I see… Well I'm sure he'll be thrilled when he hears the news," I tell her reassuringly.

"Yeah, I hope so. I just can't believe it, Katniss. I mean, I was barely getting the hang of knowing I was gonna have a kid, and now I'm gonna have two!" She takes a deep breath, "It's insane."

"Yeah, it kind of is, but trust me it's going to be worth it, Johanna. You'll have two more people that you'll love and treasure. With any luck, they'll be more like Damian than you. God knows we don't need little Johanna's running around with axes," I tell her playfully. She scoffs and I can already see her rolling her eyes on the other end of the phone.

"Whatever, Katniss," she says, nonchalantly. "It kinda sucks carrying two of these around I mean man, I'm huge!" She exclaims, drawing out the last word. I laugh again and subconsciously place my hand on my abdomen.

"Tell me about it," I say with a chuckle, "I can barely walk anymore!"

"I bet Peeta carries you around everywhere, literally."

"If I let him, he probably would. I swear, that boy went crazy the second I entered the last trimester," I say with a chuckle, though deep down I really do appreciate all his worrying, I mean someone has to do it, and I'm obviously lacking in the 'worrying' department at the moment.

"Is everything alright, Katniss?" Johanna asks, changing the topic, "You sound sorta down."

"Yeah well, I had this weird dream that Gale came to my house and we um started making out, and well honestly I can't say I didn't like it."

"Of course you'd like it, he's an amazing kisser and he's gorgeous," she says dreamily.

"Wait, WHAT?" I yell into the phone, "What do you mean he's a great kisser? How the hell would you know?"

"Oh shit," I hear her mumble under her breath, "It's just I'd _imagine _he'd be a great kisser 'cause, you know, he's so attractive…"

"BULLSHIT! Tell me the truth, Johanna. I'll find out one way or another." I hear her sigh in defeat.

"Fine, I dated Gale a couple years ago, when I first moved to Two. I never told you 'cause I thought you'd get pissed." She doesn't give me further explanation and I don't ask for one, because I honestly don't even want to hear it. I sigh.

"Whatever, Johanna, it's fine. What matters is that we're both happy with men we love who love us back." She says something back but I don't hear it because a pain like none I've ever felt before hits my lower body with such a force that it makes me gasp.

"What's wrong, Katniss?" Johanna asks.

"It's, it's nothing," I say with a grimace, "Just a contraction."

"_Just_?" She asks, emphasizing the word. "Doesn't that mean you're about to pop or something?"

"No," I say, "It just means that-" I don't finish my sentence but instead let out a groan as another contraction hits me.

"Okay, I'm no doctor but I'm pretty damn sure that, that is just 'nothing'"

"I swear, Johanna, I'm fine. As soon as Peeta gets back from Haymitch's I'll ask him to take me to the hospital," I try to convince Johanna that I'm fine, but another contraction hits and this one is so strong, it forces me to clutch my abdomen and makes me drop the phone. I can hear Johanna screaming into the receiver from way up here.

"Katniss! Katniss, DAMMIT! Answer me!"

I sit down on the floor to try and answer the phone. As soon as I sit, I notice my thighs are damp and there is a little puddle on the floor. I pick up the phone shakily and speak slowly into the receiver.

"Johanna, I think my water just broke."

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><p><strong>ooooo cliffhanger (sorta) ;D<strong>

**I really appreciate those reviews guys :3**

**so get to it ** xD


	11. Chapter 10

_**hey readers!**_

_**sorry for taking for ever but I'm in my last stretch of school and I'm a wreck! D:**_

_**hope you like it and i'm also writing some other stuff that's already on my profile if you wanna check it out :D **_

_**I can't promise when I'll update again but unfortunately it probably won't be until summer vacation (which is until June 1)**_

_**ANYWAYSS**_

_**please review and **_

_**enjoy! :)**_

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><p>Fifteen minutes later I am lying down on a hospital bed, ready to give birth, and probably using more profanities than I had ever said in my entire life. Peeta had arrived a couple minutes after I was on the phone with Johanna. I yelled at him to 'hurry the fuck up' and get me to the hospital. He wanted me to give birth at the Capitol, so I could have the best treatment, but I drew the line and said there was no way in hell my children would be from the Capitol. He agreed and he's now sitting next to me, holding on to my hand, and trying to soothe me to no avail.<p>

"It's okay, sweetheart, deep breaths-"

"DON'T FUCKING CALL ME THAT," I yell as another contraction hits.

"Okay, Katniss, I won't. Deep breaths, though, deep breaths" he says with as much calmness as he can muster, for he looks like he's about to get sick from the nerves. Another contraction grasps at my body and I squeeze on Peeta's hand, causing him to suck in air.

"Looks like you're almost ready to push, Katniss," the doctor says pleasantly. I stare at her, annoyed at her happy tone, but don't maintain the gaze for long because the pain hits again.

"Ok, on the next contraction I want you to push, Katniss," she says, her voice taking a more professional edge. I nod my head, because that's all I can manage, and try to take deep breaths as Peeta rubs small circles in my back. As soon as I feel the next contraction, I push with all my might. This is the most pain I've experienced in my life, and that is definitely saying a lot. I want to cry, to scream, I would do anything to stop this pain.

_No Katniss _a little voice in my head says _This pain is for something good. No one is dying from this pain, a new life is being born. This is for the better…_

The little voice continues pushing me on as another handful of contractions hit.

"I can see the head," The doctor says eagerly. I feel like my lower half as being torn in two and I grit my teeth to stifle a scream.

"It hurts so much," I whimper to Peeta.

"I know, baby, I know." he says, holding my hand tighter, "You're doing great, though, Katniss." Peeta mumbles into my ear and he kisses my temple, sweat and all, and pushes the damp hair from my face.

"Alright, Katniss, just one more _big _push and this baby's out." The doctor informs me. I take in a deep breath and wait for the next contraction to hit. When it does, I push with everything I have, with everything I am, and I hear the sweet note of my child's cry. I catch a glimpse of my baby as the doctor passes my child off to the nurse. I see a tuff of blonde hair but what I notice the most is the blood. Blood everywhere. All over their little body. Fear runs through me and I grip Peeta's hand.

"What's wrong with him! What did I do wrong! Why is he bleeding!" I ask, alarmed, as I try to get up.

"It's ok, Katniss. You did nothing wrong, she's fine. The blood is normal. Sit down, baby," _She? _I wonder but I don't have enough time to think about it before another contraction hits which forces me to sit down.  
>"What the hell! Aren't these suppose to be over by now!" The doctor looks at me sympathetically and lets out a sigh.<p>

"Katniss, you're expecting twins, remember?" She says gently, and then it hits me. _No Shit, what kind of mother forgets she's having twins. Oh right, me…_ I lay back down and try to relax. Peeta kisses my forehead and whispers things I can't make out into my ear.

"Are you ready, Katniss?" The doctor says kindly and I simply nod my head and grit my teeth. The next contraction hits and I push until I see stars.

"That was very good, Katniss!" The doctor praises me, "I can already see the baby's head. Just a couple more pushes."

"I love you, Katniss" Peeta whispers into my ear and those four words give me all the energy I need to bring our second child into the world.

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><p>"Well, Mrs. Mellark, I'm glad to say that both your babies are fine now."<p>

"Now?" I ask weakly, still having little energy.

"Well, yes. You're son had an abnormal heart rate for the first few minutes but the second we put him next to his sister, he got better. It's like she set some sort of time for his heart with her own heartbeat. It's quite peculiar, actually."

I know I should probably care more about how my son could've had a serious illness. That my other child saved him. That maybe this is my fault. But the only thing I catch is that the doctor said _daughter._

"Wait, so I did have a girl? I thought I was having twin boys. That's what the doctors at the Capitol told me!" I say, growing angry. Peeta rests his hand on mine, trying to soothe me.

"Well, Mrs. Mellark," She says, getting attitude, "If you would've come to all your scheduled appointments, the doctors would've taken another ultrasound and notice that you were carrying a girl. But, as written here on your record, the last time you went to your appointment was over 3 months ago," She lets that hang out for a second, like bait for me to get angry. Before I can even say anything, Peeta steps in.

"I understand that my wife missed some appointments but can we please not do this now. My wife is tired and what matters is that the babies are fine now. Can we see them?" The doctor huffs and nods reluctantly.

Peeta never ceases to amaze me.

A couple minutes later, my two beautiful children are brought in, in a single bassinet. Our daughter has her arm protectively wrapped around her brother and this brings tears to my eyes. The nurse carefully hands Peeta one child, the girl, and shows him how to hold her properly. His eyes are watery as he gently places a kiss on her tiny forehead. This wakes her and she slowly opens her eyes to expose two beautiful blue orbs. The nurse hands me our other child, and he is as perfect as can be. His eyelids uncover the same blue eyes as his sister, which both mimic their father's eyes. The only difference between them is that the child in my arms has a tuff of brown hair underneath his tiny bonnet. While his sister has blonde hair. Exact merchant class look, exactly like Prim. I choke back tears and look at Peeta happily. The pride radiates off of him and he places a gentle kiss on my hairline.

"What are we going to name them, Katniss?" He says gently.

"Alexis," I say, nodding toward the little bundle in his arms, "It means protector, and she seems to protect her little brother." Peeta nods.

"It's beautiful." He says sincerely. "What about Koda, for the boy?" He suggests.

"Perfect," I say, nodding and letting the tears overflow.

"I love you all so, so much," Peeta says tenderly.

"I'm the luckiest person on earth," he says in a whisper.

_Exactly what I was thinking. _


End file.
